Google Associate Cloud EngineerPlanning and configuring a cloud solutionEasy

A small business is migrating its on-premises file server to Google Cloud. They need a highly available, scalable, and fully managed network file system (NFS) solution that can be mounted by multiple Compute Engine instances simultaneously. Which Google Cloud service should they choose?

  1. ACloud Storage FUSE
  2. BFilestore
  3. CPersistent Disk
  4. DCloud SQL with a large storage volume
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B. Filestore

Filestore is Google Cloud's fully managed file storage service for applications that require a file system interface and a shared file system for data. It provides NFS support, high availability, and can be easily mounted by multiple Compute Engine instances.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A. Cloud Storage FUSE allows mounting Cloud Storage buckets as file systems, but it's not a true NFS service and may not provide the same performance or semantic guarantees as a dedicated file system for shared access.
  • C. Persistent Disk is block storage, which can only be attached to a single Compute Engine instance (unless using read-only persistent disks or specialized setups), making it unsuitable for a shared file system requirement.
  • D. Cloud SQL is a relational database service and is not designed to function as a network file system for general file storage.

Filestore

A fully managed file storage service for applications that require a file system interface and a shared file system for data on Google Cloud.

  • NFS protocol support.
  • High availability and scalability.
  • Easy integration with Compute Engine and GKE.

Memory trick: Filestore shares files with ease.

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